Dear Mr. President,
Many in America, Australia, and especially Communist China have been following the story of Chen Yonglin, the former political consul for the Communist regime now in fear for his life for his willingness to expose that regime's network of overseas spies. Chen has already contacted our consulate for help and safety. I ask you to grant Chen Yonglin, his fellow defector Hao Fengjun, and their families in Australia political asylum in the United States.
Chen and Hao have bravely revealed to Australia how Communist China keeps tabs on its exiles abroad, especially its exiled dissidents. To allow them to suffer even the smallest risk of forced return to Communist China is beneath our character as a nation. As we expend blood and treasure to preserve the human rights of Afghans and Iraqis, how can we not risk so much less by protecting Chen and Hao's rights?
Moreover, this issue goes well beyond Chen and Hao's own human rights and dignity. They are among the few who have intimate knowledge of how the Communists patrol overseas Chinese populations. As you well know, several American cities, including our nation's capital, have large ethnic Chinese communities, and as such, millions of fellow Americans are subject to the same surveillance, intimidation, and fear that Chen and Hao have revealed as the Communists' weapons to ensure overseas silence. Chen and Hao can help fight that far-flung network of Communist watchers here in the United States, and finally let millions of Chinese-Americans experience the full American dream.
However, Chen and Hao's value could go far beyond liberating Chinese-Americans from the long arm of Communist tyranny. They could also help break up the Communist networks in this country that have stolen nuclear secrets, compromised counterintelligence operations, and committed industrial and military espionage. If he were safely in the U.S., Chen and Hao could be invaluable assets in protecting America from espionage on several fronts.
For these reasons, I urge you to grant Chen Yonglin, Hao Fengjun, and their families in Australia asylum in the United States, not only to remove the danger to them, but to exploit what may be the best counter-espionage opportunity we have had since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Very Truly Yours,
D.J. McGuire: President and Co-founder: China e-Lobby
D.J. McGuire is President of the China e-Lobby , an anti-Communist group he co-founded in 2000, and the author of Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror.
Feeds